Healing
by One Autumn Leaf
Summary: Mai has different abilities than in canon: she is a healer, who has discovered her abilities in her childhood and has strong sensing abilities. Now, she encountered Oliver Davis at her school, who was investigating the old school building... How much is changed due to that? Read as a different SPR is formed, with new cases and different obstacles faced.
1. Case 1: The old school building

**AN:**

For this story, I will be using the German timetable system. School doesn't end at the same time every day, but depends on the subjects you have elected and the week. (There are different timetables for even and uneven weeks.) Sorry for any confusion that may arise.

* * *

Friday, 2pm

"Ah, this is life!" Michiru sighed happily as she lay in the soft grass.

"Yep! The sun is shining, a nice breeze is cooling us down, and – most importantly – none of the teachers have given us any homework! Only two periods left, and then the week end starts – and we probably won't have any homework to do. I'm so happy!"

Mai laughed at her friends antics. But they were quite right – it was a beautiful day. From her position on the grass – between her two friends and with her back to the school building – she could feel the contentment and life radiating around her.

Mai could feel the happiness of her friends, the peacefulness of the trees, and the playfulness of the birds above them. If she extended her senses, she could feel the bustle of life in the school building, and the busy insects on the trees and in the earth. And if she extended her senses even further, Mai could hear the laughter the wind carried and the song it sung.

"-ai."

"Mai."

The voices of her friends pulled Mai out of her reverie.

"Hmm? Sorry, I didn't get that." She looked at her friends apologetically, but they were wearing amused smiles.

"Ah, was our cute little Mai-chan lost in the nature surrounding her again? Are we _that_ boring?" Michiru teased her, and Mai wore a guilty smile.

"Sorry, guys… We finally get a quiet minute away from the bustle of the school, and I drift off… I'm sorry."

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

"But seriously, Mai – it is alright around us, but don't drift off like that in school, alright?" Keiko threw her a quick look before breaking out into a smile. "Though it's not like I can't understand it – if I had your ability, I probably wouldn't be able to stop doing that either. Just remember that you shouldn't use it when strangers are around. Alright?"

"Yep," Mai giggled. "How couldn't I remember? You two never stop reminding me about that!" Michiru and Keiko mock glared at her.

"We wouldn't have to do that if you would _think_ before you act."

"It would also help if you were a bit more focused and not prone to getting lost in your dreams!"

Mai stuck her tongue out at the two of them and pouted.

"You guys are mean!"

Each trying to hold on to their grimace, the three of them erupted into laughter after ten seconds. Shoulders shaking, the three friends lay next to each other contently. They resumed talking about everything and nothing once they had calmed down, and made plans for the weekend, until they were interrupted by the sound of the bell.

"Better get back, otherwise we'll be late – and I don't want to get a dress down from Fujimoto-sensei."

"Yeah – he's scary when he gets angry." Michiru nodded, agreeing with Keiko.

The three of them stood up, and hurried towards the school building and their classroom – arriving just on time.

* * *

Friday, 3pm

Mai zoned out during Fujimoto-sensei's lecture about Japanese history. It wasn't a subject she found interesting, but a certain occurrence outside captured her attention. Mai narrowed her eyes.

"I need to tell Keiko and Michiru about this." Mai muttered under her breath. She couldn't wait for the sleepover they arranged to have tomorrow – it was the perfect moment to inform them.

* * *

Saturday, 10pm

"Therefore, you should stay out of the old school building." Mai finished her explanation.

"Never thought something like that would actually happen. I mean yeah, you hear about it in the news all the time, but to think that we would be right next to it while it happened…" Michiru sounded troubled.

"Yeah. Hey, shouldn't we inform the rest of the student body about that?"

"How? It's not like we have actual measurements about that as proof, Keiko. Who would believe us?" Keiko had to concede that point.

"Then, how about we spread rumors or something? I mean, if people were to think that the building is in danger of collapsing, surely they wouldn't go inside." Michiru suggested.

Suddenly, their phones chimed. Seeing as how Mai didn't have one – she couldn't afford it – only Michiru understood why Keiko started to snicker suddenly. Curious, Mai attempted to read over Michiru's shoulder, but she had already closed the message.

"I think we can leave the rumors up to Kuroda – she's already hard at work." Seeing Mai's questioning stare, Michiru elaborated Keiko's statement.

"Kuroda just sent a message to the whole class – apparently, there are ghosts in the old school building." Mai's look morphed into one of understanding, and Keiko scoffed.

"Man, what's wrong with her that she craves attention like that? I mean, it' obvious that she isn't truly a sensitive psychic – look at you guys! Neither of you is attempting to grab attention like that. She's just an attention whore."

"Keiko, you shouldn't speak like that." Michiru chastised her. "You know that my ability as a medium is really minor, and that Mai would probably be exploited by greedy bastards if her abilities were to be unveiled."

"I understand that, Michi, but seriously – Kuroda has been going on and on and on about her abilities since middle school, and it is obvious that she is just faking it."

"That may be true," Mai interrupted, "but I wouldn't write Kuroda off like that."

"What do you mean?" Now both of her friends were curious – when Mai said something like that, you better listen, because she is never wrong.

"Hmm… I feel some kind of energy in her, but it's really minor and dormant most of the time. It's so minor, actually, that I can't determine if it is PK natured or ESP oriented."

Keiko pulled a face.

"Well, that means that she is a weak busy-body, who lies in order to get attention – an attention whore."

"Yes," Mai conceded. "But she is also undeniably psychic. Just keep that in mind, Kei-chan."

"I still don't like her."

"Me neither. She is pulling the name of legitimate psychics through the mud." Michiru added in a soft voice.

"I'm not asking you to be her friends. I'm just telling you that you shouldn't disregard her – she is, for better or worse, one of us. You shouldn't forget how we felt when we first discovered our abilities."

Keiko broke eye contact with Mai. She could still remember those days easily. She would unknowingly use her ability – Apportation – to draw objects to her when she wanted them. Balls, shovels, necklaces, flowers – whatever she wanted, it would appear in her hand. It didn't matter where it was at the moment or if it was being used. When Keiko could see it and wanted it, it appeared. That freaked the kids on the playgrounds out so much, that only her older siblings would still play with her. Luckily she found Mai and Michiru, and together they discovered their abilities and learned to control them.

Michiru's thoughts were similar. As a child, she couldn't differentiate between the living and spirits, and she would constantly confuse the two. Her parents were freaking out, and discussed sending her to an asylum, but her aunt – who is a medium herself – intervened and trained her, and eventually took her in. When she met Mai, her abilities calmed down and stabilized, and Michiru made her first friend who _didn't_ think she was crazy at one point in her life.

Michiru and Keiko looked at Mai with guilt written in their eyes, and both of them apologized.

"Sorry. It's just – it's not the same. We struggled so hard for control, and trained for so long until we could make our abilities dormant, but she just comes along and blabs on and on about her abilities when she has never even used them before!" Keiko's indignation was tangible in her voice, and Michiru nodded, signaling that she agreed with her.

"As far as we know, Kuroda is probably unaware of her abilities – meaning that she is making it all up." Michiru added.

"Well, I never said that Kuroda isn't a braggart, and she certainly is dragging the entirety of psychics through the mud – but you still shouldn't call her a whore."

"Hai," her friends answered in unison.

"Well, now that this topic is over, I challenge you to another round of Mario Kart!" Michiru declared.

"Bring it on, Michi!"

"You are going down!"

* * *

Monday, 8am

Come Monday, the entire school had heard about Kuroda's claim that the old building was haunted. While many did not believe, a few believers were found throughout the school – and rumors started spreading. Mai considered it a positive thing. After all, the rumors would keep out the students – she and her trio were the only ones interested in the paranormal aside from Kuroda.

* * *

Wednesday, 5pm

This was why Wednesday found Michiru, Yuuri, Keiko and Mai once again telling ghost stories in the A/V room. Mai had just finished her retelling of the 'woman and the red cloak' story – a classic really – when she noticed a faint presence approaching them. She didn't consider it important and focused on Michiru as she began her story.

"Alright, the story I brought today is the story about the old school building that is currently coursing through the school."

Absentmindedly Mai noticed that the presence had stopped at the door and was probably listening in.

"It is the story Kuroda told me, and almost everyone believes it to be true."

Here, Michiru, Keiko and Mai shared an amused look. Yuuri wasn't in on the true story, but had been told by Mai to stay out of the old building. Naturally, she heeded the warning. It was a well-known fact throughout the whole school that when Mai told you to do (or not do) something, you listened – somehow she was never wrong. Yuuri wondered if this story was the reason for Mai's warning.

"That building was cursed. A lot of strange incidents happened there. Every year a teacher and a pupil died there. Whether it was in a fire or an incident, only bad things happened there. Then the new school building was built ten years ago.

"That time, when they had to demolish the old building to start the construction, strange things happened. A machine stopped working and workers got ill. But still they tried to break the west wall, and the roof fell down, all the way from the second floor. All of the workers on the first floor died." Here, Michiru made a small pause to allow the story to seep in.

"Diseases, injuries, incidents..." She continued in a creepy voice.

"Therefore the construction was suspended. It was left like that, with the west side collapsed, for a long time. However, after that unpleasant things continued to happen. A child from the neighborhood was found dead in the ex-building, three days after that a teacher committed suicide there..."

Mai allowed a smile to grace her lips. She loved a good ghost story. She glanced at the people surrounding her. Yuuri looked spooked, Keiko hung on Michiru's lips despite knowing it was a made up story, and Michiru looked please. In the light of the only remaining flashlight, it was a positively scary expression. The presence from before was lingering by the door, listening in intently, while attempting to stay hidden. _What a strange person._

"The demolition was restarted last year in order to rebuild the gym. But again only the half of it got demolished, before the work got suspended. The exact same as last time. A machine broke, a worker got injured…

"Once a truck went out of control and drove through the sport ground during class. Two students died, and seven were severely injured. It was on the newspapers too." Michiru keeps going on in a low voice, effectively scaring Michiru and Keiko, and even Mai felt a little shiver wander down her back.

"My senpai's friend saw a man's ghost at the ex-building... A person's white shadow was looking at her from the second floor, she said. The road around the school fence isn't a place to walk at night. Apparently, my senpai went to check it out. She says that there was a white figure in the window, waving at her as she passed by. Her dog started barking and running away, effectively pulling my senpai with him. She is certain that he saved her life."

"...I'm turning it off." Michiru said quietly. The room got quiet again. With a weak sound Michiru's penlight disappeared. The vicinity was wrapped up in the darkness and the sound of the rain.

"One..." Keiko says with a hazy voice from inside the darkness. Her voice is trembling.

After we tell the ghost stories and turn off the lights we have to count upwards from one. The last one should be a ghost.

"Two..." Yuuri's voice.

"Three..." Mai's turn.

"Four..." Michiru's low voice.

 _There are four of us. Are we about to hear a fifth voice?_ She was curious. _Of course, if we_ were _to hear a fifth voice, it would be from the presence at the door and not from a spirit, but nobody apart from me knows that._

They strained their ears, hearing nothing but raindrops. Then, suddenly, another voice sounded through the room.

"FIVE"

"KYAAA!"

Michiru, Keiko and Yuuri were completely freaking out. Mai laughed quietly – _seriously, Michiru, you are a medium. You would have felt a ghost approaching. And Keiko, what are you doing – you have accompanied Michiru and I on a cleansing often enough to know that I would have said something if a ghost had appeared._

"Was-was that you?" Keiko asked with a fearful voice.

"Yes... did I do something wrong?"

 _Ah, so he was the presence at the door. Hmm… no malicious intentions. He's alright._ Mai allowed her aura to grow comforting – signaling to her friends that he was alright.

Michiru sits down relieved. She had picked up on Mai's signal the quickest – as a medium, she was more spiritually sensitive than Keiko.

"Ah, that surprised me. I thought I was going to die."

"Excuse me. The lights were off so I thought there was nobody in here, but suddenly I heard voices... so I just..." Mai almost snorted. _Yeah right… You were listening in from the beginning._

"That's... it's alright!" Keiko says joyfully. Obviously, she too had picked up on the signal. "Are you an exchange student?"

The boy paused a little. "...is it like that, I wonder..." He mumbled under his breath. Mai frowned. _What's with the pause? Either you are, you aren't. Strange. Plus, I feel a lot of spiritual power from him – PK and… is that psychometry? What a weird mixture. Usually, you either have PK_ or _ESP… not both._ Michiru's voice pulled Mai out of her musings.

"A first-year?"

"...I'm seventeen this year." _What a strange way to answer. Weird. Even though he has no bad intentions, he isn't who he lets them assume he is. Plus, he has that incredibly dense energy… Something isn't adding up here._

"So, you are a senpai." Keiko says that with a lively voice. She is the kind that is attracted by looks, and now that she has ascertained that he is no danger to any of them, she wants to flirt with him. _Typical_. Mai almost smiled at her friend's antics.

"We are sorry to have surprised you too! We were telling ghost stories."

"Heeh…" He said and smiled. _It doesn't reach his eyes…_

"Would you mind if I joined you?" Everyone screamed in delight.

"Please, please... Sit here." Michiru pulled his arm.

"What's your name?"

"Shibuya..." Keiko's eyes formed a heart at that moment.

"Shibuya-senpai, do you like ghost stories too?"

"Sort of." He smiled. _I have never seen a smile that was that forced before._ Everyone screamed happily again, but Mai could still feel restlessness coming from him – as if interacting and socializing with them wasn't something he was interested in.

"Shibuya-san..." Mai said, and he turned in her direction.

"Mm?" _Again with the fake smile. But I can feel it. This guy had something hidden under the surface. His eyes aren't smiling, and his body is tense. I bet I'd be able to pick up some really unpleasant thoughts if I tried. This obviously wasn't something that he planned on doing._

"What are you doing in a place like this?"

"I had something to take care of." _Wow, can you get any vaguer?_

"Then do it faster, because we're going home now." Mai had decided to voice her opinion.

"Eeh?!" Keiko and Michiru exclaimed, dissatisfied. Even Yuuri who has been quiet until now, pulls my uniform. However, one look from me silenced them.

"That Mai...Don't worry about it senpai. What is it that you have to do here? We will help you!" Keiko was obviously trying to salvage the situation while still fleeing as soon as possible.

"...Ah, it's only some tape dubbing..." Shibuya once again forces his smile. _It basically screams 'excuse'._

"The truth is, I'm in a bit of a hurry right now. How about next time you tell ghost stories, you let me join in?" _Heh… So he's getting on with the program now that we are too._

"Then, tomorrow after school!" _Keiko… What are you doing?_

"Alright. Where?"

"Our homeroom! Room 1-F!"

He smiled, bowing his head in assent.

"Okay, then we'll be going now. Goodbye." Michiru stood in an unusually graceful manner.

"Take care."

"Bye!"

* * *

Wednesday, 7pm

Michiru, Mai and Keiko bid goodbye to Yuuri and were on their way to the subway.

"What was that, Mai? You had already given the okay – do you want him for yourself?" I threw Keiko an annoyed look.

"Of course not. It's just… something about him doesn't add up."

"What do you mean?" Mai had Michiru's complete attention now, though Keiko was frowning at her.

"First of all, his smile. It is clearly forced and doesn't reach his eyes. It's almost like he's acting. Second, he let you make assumptions about who he is – it is obvious that he isn't a student. At least not from our school, and he is also not an exchange student. Thirdly, he has an incredibly dense energy. He's probably the most powerful psychic I have ever encountered. Fourth, he was listening in on us the whole time since Michiru told her story. Fifth, his 'tape dubbing' just screams 'excuse!'. So you see, while he has no malicious intentions I could pick up on, something _definitely_ isn't adding up."

During the whole time Mai spoke, neither Michiru nor Keiko said a word. They knew not to interrupt her when she was in 'lecture' mode – it always pissed her off. And pissy Mai was no fun to deal with. Plus, she was never wrong about stuff like that – her instincts were always spot on.

Keiko sighed. "Ah, but I want to flirt with him!" She was practically whining.

"I'm not saying you can't do that. Just – don't expect everything from him back, alright? He obviously wasn't honest with you. That doesn't mean that you can't try – first impressions may be wrong after all – but keep that in mind, alright?"

This time, both Michiru and Keiko sighed.

"Hai," they answered in unison.

Boarding the subway, they talked about everything and nothing, like high school girls were prone to do. Mai noticed, however, that Keiko kept circling back to the 'handsomeness' of 'senpai'. It was clear that she was crushing a bit. Michiru and Mai just shook their head smiling.

* * *

Thursday, 2pm

The next day, when Mai returned from the toilet, she saw her friends holding a conversation with Shibuya-senpai. Sighing, she ambled her way over to them, catching the tail end of their conversation.

" – glad that you'll join us later for the stories!"

"Do you always tell them after school?"

"Well, not always. But it's a great way to spend time and it is a lot of fun too, therefore –" Kuroda interrupted Keiko's excited voice.

"Hmpf, so you girls are the reason I've been having headaches all week! Haven't I told you guys before that telling ghost stories isn't fun? It's dangerous! You are calling ghosts here, endangering everybody!"

Mai could see that both Keiko and Michiru were about to blow up at Kuroda, and decided to intervene.

"Kuroda-san, telling ghost stories doesn't call spirits down to you. You would have to hold certain rituals for that to happen, but we don't do those. You needn't worry about that." She kept her voice reasonable and calm, hoping to keep Kuroda from blowing up at her. Unfortunately, that didn't work.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You are just an amateur that knows nothing!"

"And you are just a phony!" Keiko interrupted.

"How dare you speak to Mai like that?" Was that anger Mai detected in Michiru's voice? "Anyways, there aren't any ghosts here."

"Of course there are! I can see them, they are trapped in the old school building!"

"What kind of spirits?" Shibuya's cold voice interfered.

"Hmpf, the spirits from the war of course! The school was a hospital during that time, and now those wounded soldiers and nurses that died there during an air raid are still lingering here!" _What complete bullshit._

"Which war?"

"The second World War." Shibuya gave a sarcastic smile.

"Oh? I wasn't aware that there was a hospital here then. This school has been here since before pre-war days… And before that this was a medical school. Is it possible that you are seeing those spirits?"

"Who knows? It's possible! Anyways, you girls need to stop telling those ghost stories, or my headache will never go away." With that, Kuroda turned on her heel and stalked out of the class room.

"Grand-standing busybody," Keiko muttered under her breath.

"I'm sorry Shibuya-senpai, but I don't think I'm in the mood to tell ghost stories today…" Yuuri stated. Mai, Michiru and Keiko were quick to agree and bid him goodbye.

From the corner of her eye Mai say Shibuya-senpai narrowing his eyes and looking at them suspiciously. Then, as if contemplating something, he slightly tilted his head to the side. Obviously coming to a conclusion, he called out to them.

"Hey girls," they turned around, and Mai saw that he was wearing that fake smile again. _It's probably supposed to be charming._ "Would it be possible to get your phone numbers?"

Keiko and Yuuri squealed. They almost tripped over themselves in their haste to get to Shibuya-senpai. Michiru looked hesitant at first, but eventually ambled over to him too. Mai turned around, intending to walk away, when he called out to her again.

"Hey, can I get yours to Miss…"

"Taniyama. Taniyama Mai. And no, you can't." Mai spoke over her shoulder, not turning back to him. She still saw the bewildered look that passed over his face.

"I see. May I know why?"

"Well, I don't have a smartphone. Besides, even if I had one, I still wouldn't give you my number. I make it a point not to hand out my phone number to strangers. Good day, Shibuya-senpai." With that, Mai continued her walk, and left Shibuya-senpai standing there. Unknown to her, she had just picked his interest, and Shibuya was sporting a handsome smirk on his face that made Keiko squeal again.

 _Heh… Somebody who is obviously knowledgeable about the supernatural and capable of looking through my charm? Interesting. Taniyama Mai, huh. I wonder what she knows about the case._

* * *

Friday, 1:30 pm

The next day found Mai once again being bored to death by her teachers. Who the hell needed math, anyway? It's not like she was striving to study it or something.

Looking out of the window, Mai could see Shibuya-senpai standing with another guy next to a van. The guy appeared to be quite tall, but he was too far away for Mai to make out any more details. She had only recognized Shibuya-senpai because she had memorized his energy signature.

While Mai continued to watch them, she unknowingly activated her 'second sight' as she called it. Sure, second sight was usually associated with sensing spirits, but what else would you call the ability to perceive energy? Mai found that a fitting name.

Stoicism. That was the first thing she noticed in the energy of both men. Though it seemed like senpai aimed to be that way, while it was a natural part of the tall person.

The next thing she noticed was the ease in their energy, the relaxation in their aura. Whatever they are doing right now is probably something that they do often.

Then she noticed how their energies reached out to each other. _Interesting. They have either known each other for quite some time and trust the other unconditionally and with their lives, or they are lovers. Wonder which one it is?_ At this thought, Mai almost laughed out loud. Wouldn't it be hilarious if senpai was gay and all those girls were chasing after him for nothing?

Lastly, she noticed that both of them are psychics. While she could easily make out senpai's abilities – PK:ST and psychometry, like she deducted yesterday – the tall one's remained a mystery. She could only say that they were quite powerful, though weaker than senpai's. He was the second most powerful psychic Mai had ever encountered, first being Shibuya-senpai.

All of a sudden, Mai's senses picked up on two other energy sources. They were clearly walking in Shibuya's direction, and were also psychic.

 _Geez, what the hell is going on? Was there some kind of announcement like 'come here if you are psychic and get a million yen'? Otherwise, why the hell are all of them here?_

The other two presences were now talking with senpai and Tall, and she could recognize them as a male and a female. Additionally, the female's energy seemed to be deeply interconnected with… trees? _What the hell? Though, apart from the tree thingy her energy is quite ordinary. Probably a low level spiritualist, though I'm interested in the tree thingy._

The man's energy, on the other hand, was fairly powerful. If she had to guess, she would say that he is capable of performing exorcisms, but she couldn't tell anything else from his aura.

The aura from senpai and Tall grew displeased by the arrival of Female and Male. But it seemed like they weren't the only ones – Male and Female were also quite displeased. All of their aura's gained some sort of attribute that Mai had rarely ever witnessed. That was the reason it took her quite some time, probably around five minutes, to figure it out: pride, haughtiness, and jealousy.

Mai watched as their aura's grew more and more enraged, while senpai and Tall grew displeased and annoyed respectively. Then, when Mai thought it couldn't get worse and that they would start fighting physically soon, another two presences approached them.

Mai could recognize one as her principal (though barely, she had only seen him a grand total of two times), and the other was a very kind, but nonetheless firm and powerful presence. He was undeniably a psychic as well, though – as were Male and Female – a spiritualist rather than a psychic with an ability.

She was still uncertain in which Tall belonged – while his power was undeniably focused outwards and received strength and power from it like a spiritualist, she also felt an inner strength. She had never experienced something like that before.

 _Though Kind probably belongs in that category as well. But it's strange… His power comes simultaneously from himself, and from another source I cannot locate. Yet, it is completely focused outwards, but without being harmful like Tall's or Male's. It's a kind power – much like his aura. Kind and gentle._

Now, the auras of Male and Female grew very amused, if not mocking, Tall was completely unaffected, and was senpai's... sympathetic? _What the hell?_

Suddenly Male and Female's aura changed into one of grudging respect and slight wariness, while senpai and Tall were both a bit surprised and respectfulness. _Interesting. But I reiterate – what the hell? First of all, what are so many psychics doing here, and what is up with their personalities?_

Mai was pulled out of her musings by a well-aimed piece of chalk that hit her straight in the middle of her forehead. _Ow._

"Taniyama-san, please answer the question!" Ogawa-sensei seems a little to smug for Mai's liking. Carefully, she reached out with her energy and asked Michiru for entrance, which she easily gave. Sifting through her surface thoughts, my easily found the question – some annoyingly hard math problem – and Mai quickly devised her answer.

Upon hearing her answer – which wasn't completely correct, but she only made one small mistake by missing a certain step – her teacher seemed to deflate a bit, and his smugness vanished. Mai easily picked up his surface thoughts: 'One day, Taniyama, one day I'll get you while you're spacing out!"

Mai grinned. She knew that the teacher were trying to catch her while she was spacing out, seeing as how it happened quite often, despite Michiru's and Keiko's constant warnings. Still, it felt great showing up the teachers like that – even if it was through some uncommon psychic help and her friends.

When Mai looked out of the window again, the small group she was watching before had disappeared. Stretching out her senses, she tried unsuccessfully to find them. Deciding to take it up a notch – further than she ever had before – she finally picked up faint traces of them in the old school building, but there were too many energy sources in between them for Mai to pick up anything else. _Damn students. They were quite interesting to watch._

Sighing, Mai resigned herself to the fate of being bored to death. The question about what they were doing in the old school building in the first place completely slipped her mind.

* * *

Friday, 5pm

Shibuya Kazuya was having a bad day.

Firstly, he had to deal with annoying high school girls fawning over him in order to get some required information about the rumors concerning the old school building. Secondly, he met a strange girl who told everyone willing to listen and those unwilling that telling ghost stories summons ghosts and how it gives her headaches, which led to a fight between her and the girls he had charmed into telling him the rumors. He had hoped to get some more information from them as he wasn't able to hear the full story the last time, but the girl destroyed their 'mood' and ruined his chances.

Then, the principal apparently didn't trust him and hired not one, not two, but _three_ exorcists _as well as_ a famous television medium. Then, the strange girl, Kuroda something, showed up, claiming to be psychic, and directly contradicting Hara-san.

Then, Matsuzaki-san, one of the aforementioned exorcists, managed to get trapped in a room and screamed bloody murder. He thought she was being killed or something, but there hadn't even been an appearance of a ghost – a nail had shut her in, which resulted in a cat fight between Matsuzaki-san and Hara-san. Worse, he wasn't able to get a reading of the nail with his psychometry.

 _And then,_ as if all that hadn't been enough, Hara-san managed to fall through the wall from the second floor, and one of the girls he charmed earlier that day was doing _something_ to her. This really wasn't his day.

* * *

Friday, 4.54 pm

Mai just finished her cleaning duties and was on her way to leaving the premise, when the wind carried a scream to her ears, with the plead to 'help her'. Whoever 'her' was. Mai assumed that it was the one who had screamed, but until she was on site she couldn't be sure.

Therefore, Mai fully opened her second sight and allowed the wind to lead her there, while breaking out into a run. One minute later she arrived, and saw a girl – probably somewhere around her age – lying on the soil in front of the old school building, obviously hurt and unconscious.

Sighing, Mai lowered herself so that she was kneeling next to her. She allowed her mental barriers to fade a bit, and homed in on the aura of the girl. Promptly Mai received a vision about falling through the wall after leaning against it, and hitting the ground hard.

Shaking her head at the stupidity of some people – seriously, who leans against the wall in an obviously decrepit building – Mai started running a check of her injuries.

 _Hmm… Two broken ribs, internal bleeding, and a slight concussion. Nothing too bad, but nothing I can leave alone either._

Sighing once again, she got to work, painfully aware of the audience that was beginning to form around her. Firstly she repaired the concussion. This required so little effort that there wasn't a visible trace of her powers.

When she got to work on mending the bones and stopping the internal bleeding, however, a bit of her healing aura (which is always green) became visible, engulfing her hand. When she retracted her hand and stood up, ready to go home now, a cold voice intercepted her.

"What did you just do to Hara-san?" Ah, it was senpai.

"Nothing really. I just healed her. Now, if you don't mind Shibuya-senpai, I have to go home." Turning to leave, she was once again stopped when he grabbed her by the wrist.

"Is that so? Why would you heal her, and why are you able to do it in the first place? There are currently no registered healers in Japan."

"She fell down from the second floor. Were you expecting me to just leave her here? I won't bother to answer the second question. Besides, I don't see how that is your business. Goodbye, Shibuya-senpai, but I have to leave now." Turning to leave once again, Mai was _once again_ stopped by the jerk.

"It is my business because I made it mine. And you cannot leave yet, because I want to talk about this with you. You wouldn't want to waste the opportunity to spend quality time with me, now would you?" Shibuya used a sultry voice and gave Mai a winning smile. Well, winning to everyone else. Mai saw through his fake smile immediately.

"I'm not interested, Shibuya-san."

"How can you not be interested? I am undoubtly the most handsome man you will ever meet. _Everybody_ is interested!" Shibuya sounded positively scandalized. _What a narcissist. Naru-chan the narcissist!_

"Listen here, Naru-chan. I. Am. Not. Interested. Have a nice day." With that, Mai turned around. Naru's hand had slackened from shock, allowing Mai to actually gain a bit distance.

"Naru-chan? Where have you heard that?!" Naru's tone was icy and sharp, probably more than he intended.

"Naru-chan the narcissist. It's no wonder that other people have called you that before me!" With that, Mai left the school ground, leaving a shocked group of bystanders in her wake. She did hear, however, when laughter started to echo through the school, and smirked to herself.

 _What an interesting bunch. AH, I forgot to ask what they did in there in the first place! Meh, it's not like it matters._

And with that, Mia boarded the subway.

* * *

Monday, 7.55 am

Mai was running a bit late, but if she hurried, she could still make it. She was currently at the subway station situated 5 minutes away from school. If she ran, she could make it within 3, giving her enough time to change shoes and arrive in the classroom before the teacher.

Mai sighed. She hates running, but it seemed like she had no choice now. As soon as the traffic light turned green, Mai sped down the sidewalk, all the while congratulating herself for her speed and endurance that she honed throughout the years of being late due to unfortunate accidents.

* * *

Monday, 8 am

Mai slid into her seat just as the teacher entered the room.

"Mai! Psst." Michiru whispered. Mai turned around, and saw Michiru sitting at her desk, holding up a piece of paper.

Stealthily, Mai turned around and accepted it, making sure that the teacher didn't notice anything. Once everything had settled down after greeting the teacher, Mai opened the note and started reading.

 _Shibuya-senpai was here today before the classes started. He asked around for you. Was after information, sounded a lot like he wanted to figure out if you are psychic. Be careful around him._

Mai groaned. Just her luck – she did them a favor by healing that girl, and instead of being grateful about it he started investigating her? Perfect. Deciding that she couldn't hide it from her friends, she wrote a message back.

 _Girl fell from old school building, 2_ _nd_ _floor. I healed her, they saw. He asked questions, I deflected. Seems like I picked his interest…_

She handed the note to Michiru, who quickly got a facial expression of annoyance before handing it over to Keiko. She looked a mixture of incredulous and annoyed, and Mai was certain that before long she would get a lecture from them about 'thinking before acting'. _Great. Just what I needed_.

Monday, 9.15 am

"STUDENTS TANIYAMA MAI AND KURODA, PLEASE COME TO THE PRINCIPALS OFFICE. STUDENTS TANIYAMA AND KURODA, TO THE PRINCIPALS OFFICE."

Mai shared a look with Michiru and Keiko before standing up. _Seems like Naru made his move._

As she walked with Kuroda towards the office, Kuroda started a conversation. "Taniyama-san, do you know why we were called?"

"No, not a clue. But it's probably due to the old school building, don't you think?"

"Hmm, it better be. Shibuya-sans theory of land subsidence is hilarious." Mai sighed. _Is she still holding on to her delusions? But it seems like Naru figured it out. There was never a ghost in the first place, it is all happening due to the ground giving in._

However, that was when Mai inspected Kuroda a bit more closely. _Huh? What is that? Seems like Kuroda's energy awakened… PK. But, while it seems to have awoken, at the same time it seems like it is still sleeping… What the hell?_

Shortly afterwards, Mai and Kuroda reached the principal's office, where they were greeted by Naru and the other people that were on site when she healed the Kimono clad girl.

"Everybody, please take a seat." Naru nodded to Tall, who switched the light off and shut the curtains, pulling the room in darkness. Then, Naru switched on a strange red lamp, which's light immediately made everyone sleepy.

"Relax. I want you to focus completely on the light and on my voice." Again, he made a short break. "Your body is relaxed. Your shoulders lose their tension, your posture relaxes. You feel your tension and anxiety and everything else leave your body through your fingertips, until the only thing that remains is peace." Naru's voice was relaxing, soft, and rose and fell in nice cadences, lulling everybody deeper into sleep.

"Now your eyelids become heavy, and you can feel them closing on their own. You become sleepy."

Mai, like everybody else, was deeply affected by the mixture of Naru's voice and the pulsating deep red light. All their bodies became relaxed, their eyelids heavy, and their minds drowsy. Eventually, Naru's voice seemed to come from far away.

"Tonight... In the old school building… A chair is standing in the lab… That chair is going to move… All by itself…" In her drowsy state, Mai's mind slowly began repeating the words _. Chair moves… Old school building… laboratory…_

But even in her drowsy state Mai noticed how Kuroda's energy slowly began flaring. _Strange…_

Then, suddenly, Naru opened the curtains and switched the red lamp off. Startled, Mai looked at him with wide eyes.

"Thank you for your cooperation, everybody. You can now return to whatever you were doing before. _Who the hell does he think he is?_

Sure enough, Male and Female began arguing with Naru. Not wanting to be caught up in that, she quickly grabbed Kuroda's hand and said "Come on, let's return to the class room.

* * *

Monday, 4 pm

"What were you thinking, Mai? We _told_ you to think before you act!" Michiru was fuming at her.

"I'm sorry, Michi-chan. But that girl fell from the _second story_. She had broken ribs, inner bleeding, and a concussion. If she had gone to the hospital she would have stayed there quite a while."

"But still, Mai –"

"No, Keiko. Yes, it was unfortunate that they witnessed the scene, but I would do it again if given the chance." Mai softened her voice. "I don't like people suffer, especially not if I have the ability to help them. I'm sorry."

Michiru sighed. "Don't apologize, Mai. We know that, and we love that about you. We are just worried."

"Yeah," Keiko piped up, "we don't want to see a repeat of _that_ incident." Mai nodded. She still didn't like talking, or even thinking about it for that matter.

Keiko, looking for a topic change, started an appreciation speech about Hakuro, an upperclassman, who is the captain of the basketball team. Quickly, Mai blended her and Michiru out as they swooned about him.

* * *

Wednesday, 4 pm

School was out for the day, and when Mai attempted to leave the classroom, Naru stood there.

"Hello, Mai. Can I talk with you for a bit?" Nodding, she followed him to the field behind the school Michiru, Mai and Keiko frequented.

"What do you want?" Apprehension and hostility filled her voice. She was afraid that this would be a repeat of _that_ event.

"I wanted to talk to you about your abilities, Mai." _Oh no._

"I don't know what you are talking about." _Fake it 'til you make it_.

"I think you do. Don't worry, I won't go around proclaiming to the world what you can do. It is obvious that you are a healer, and they are unfortunately always exploited by society."

"And you won't?"

"I won't lie and say that I don't want to use your abilities. It is obvious that you are very talented, as you were able to heal Hara-san's injuries very quickly." _Hara-san? Is that the girl's name?_

"In my line of work, someone with your abilities is very useful." AT her questioning look, Naru elaborated. I am a ghost hunter. Me and my assistant, Lin, purify and exorcise hauntings. Unfortunately, that isn't usually without injuries. Just for that I would like to have you on my team. But that is not everything you can do, is it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I talked with many of your school mates. Apparently, you have killer instincts, and give great advice. That goes so far, that when you tell somebody to do or not do something, they always listen to you." He gave her a probing look. "You aren't only able to heal, are you?"

Mai took in a sharp breath of air. She deliberated, weighed, brainstormed, and – after full five minutes of silence – she decided to tell him.

"No. My primary ability is healing, but I got a secondary ability which developed over time – I call it 'second sight'." She could see that Naru was listening intently.

"It… basically enables me to sense energy. I know that 'second sight' usually refers to sensing ghosts and stuff, but I found it fitting."

"What exactly can you do?"

"Well… I am not quite sure how I should explain it and if there is a name for my ability – or if it even appeared before – but the closes description I can give is that I am interconnected with energy." Naru didn't show the confusion on his face, but I could feel it in his energy.

"I am not sure how well I can explain it, but I will do my best. You know, everywhere around and in us exists energy. Life itself is energy. Psychic abilities, both PK and ESP, as well as stuff like exorcisms, are basically the usage of the energy in and around us." Here she paused briefly – no reason to tell Naru everything when she didn't know if she could trust him yet.

"I can sense energy in its purest form, while everybody else can only see it once it was converted into a certain shape – for example spirits. In other words, I can sense the energy around me, which would include every living being, and even the botanic around me, as well as those who have already passed on."

"Meaning, you are basically the best medium around."

"No. A normal medium would be able to interact with the spirit, and give you a description of their appearance. The only thing I can do is sense when it is in my range, and identify its emotions – maybe even a few of their foremost thoughts."

"Their foremost thoughts? What do you mean?" _Fuck. I didn't mean to let that slip…_

"Ahahaha, you know, nothing, it was just – "

"Mai. Don't lie to me." His voice was strict and demanding, but Mai wasn't sure if she could trust him with that.

"Mai… You can tell me." But Mai was biting her lip, still unsure. Going out on a limb, Naru made an important decision.

"Mai. As a sign of trust, I will let you in on a secret – and I hope I won't regret this. My name is not Shibuya Kazuya. That is just an alias. My true name is Oliver Davis, renowned professor of parapsychology. I am currently in japan due to personal business, and am incognito." Mai stared at him with wide eyes –could it be? _It would certainly explain the mix of PK and ESP that I noticed in his energy – Davis-hakase is famous for his combination of PK and psychometry._ Deciding to trust him, Mai phrased her answer carefully.

 _You can trust him.  
That is Professor Oliver Davis.  
Trust him._

"Why did you tell me that?"

"I have two reasons. Number one, I want to show you that you can trust me by letting you in on a secret of my own. Number two, I want you to understand that I know that psychic abilities – especially and strong and rare ones – are often exploited and experimented with, and that I have no interest in making you experience that." Mai could feel the honesty reverberating through his aura, and had already decided to trust him. Still, a few question had to be answered.

"Then what do you want?"

"I want you as a part of my team to minimize major injuries and casualties. And, if you would permit it, I would like to research and document your abilities as reference for others who may have that gift. I promise that I will do nothing that you don't want and that I will ask you for permission before publishing anything in reference to your abilities. Alright?" Mai nodded.

"Then, can you tell me what other abilities you have?" Taking a deep breath and listening to her instinct that screamed at her to trust him, Mai started.

"Well, as I already told you, my primary ability is healing, my secondary is energy sensing. Energy sensing permits me to pick up anything infused with energy – living beings, my surroundings, spirits – as long as they are in my range.

"But that is not everything I can do. I can also… pick up anything infused with energy even if it isn't something with conscious thought. I can, for example, read the energy of someone to determine their emotions, and pick up the past of something if it is important enough. Same with the future. In addition to that, I can pick up the thoughts of someone if I want to – but I usually keep that suppressed."

"Meaning, you can basically emulate aura reading, pre- and post-cognitive abilities, and telepathy?" Naru looked really surprised.

"Yeah. Then there are two other things, though I am not sure if they are truly psychic abilities." Naru just threw her a look that said 'stop wasting time, just tell me'.

"My… instincts are usually spot on, and I sometimes get… 'messages' from the wind."

"Elaborate."

"I don't really know how. Sometimes, the wind just carries certain things to my ear – pleads for help, information I require, stuff like that. The reason I helped Kimono girl that day was due to the wind carrying her pleads for help to me."

"Hmm… Interesting." Naru fixed his eyes intently on me.

"Taniyama Mai. I'd like to offer you a job as a part-timer in SPR, Shibuya Psychic Research. If you accept, you will fulfill the duties of an assistant and help on cases. You will be paid handsomely. If you furthermore decide to accept being researched by me – whether that is now or at some other point – SPR will cover the entirety of your living expenses and every wish you may have that is appropriate. Additionally, please keep my true identity a secret from anybody else. I will send a contract to your apartment. If you accept, please sign it and come to the office as soon as possible to discuss your working hours. Goodbye."

With that, he left, and a thoroughly confused Mai looked after him.

 _Seriously, he's so strange – at first, he is a total (faking) charmer, then a total narcissistic ass, then completely rational, then he suddenly opens up about his identity and becomes fairly friendly, and then he leaves me here like that – what the heck?!_

It was only on the subway that Mai realized why Naru was so shocked about her nickname for him at first – it had probably to do with his true identity.

 _Well, seems like I will be researching Oliver Davis for a bit tonight._

* * *

 **AN:**

And done. A day later than anticipated, but I think it's fine. For everyone following Akahana Mai, that chapter will still take a while.

Before people start grilling me about Naru giving out his true identity, I think that it makes sense. He is interested in Mai's ability, and in the universe I created healers are very rare. (think like only 5 exist or something.) For that he needs to have her trust, and that would be a good way to get that.

 **Hope you enjoyed this, and let me know what you think and if you want more!**

If I continue this, I will mix original cases with the canon ones. The canon ones will all be done in a single chapter, while the originals will most likely come in multiple ones (I can orientate myself on the novel for the canon ones).

I'm saying this right away, though: this story _**DOES NOT**_ have an update schedule, and the priority lies with Akahana Mai: A different journey.

Which pairings do you want for Mai?  
MaRu (Mai x Naru)  
MaLi (Mai x Lin)

(I will put up a poll some time later today)

Until next time,  
One Autumn Leaf


	2. Mai's first day at SPR

**Chapter** **2  
** **Mai's first day at SPR**

Wednesday, 9 pm

Mai had returned home from school a few hours ago, and after cooking, eating, and doing her homework, called Michiru and Keiko in a conference call. Currently, all three were at their respective homes, sitting in front of their laptops while researching Oliver Davis. Well, Mai was using the laptop of her next-door neighbor, Shisui, which she borrowed in exchange for cooking him dinner.

"I don't know, Mai. This bio says that Oliver Davis is already a renowned professor, who worked with the _British Society for Psychical Research_ , BSPR for short, since he's fourteen. Before that, he solved cases together with another medium under the supervision of his father on his own. Nothing mentions him going abroad or stopping working there."

"Michi-chan is right. Also, apparently his father is one of the leaders of BSPR – why would he come overseas? To Japan, no less? It's no secret that Japan is far behind other countries when it comes to psychic research or even to acknowledging psychic powers." Keiko sounded doubtful, her voice was hesitant.

"Yeah, the government even allowed the media to research and document what happened during that spoon bending episode."

"Psychic craze," Mai corrected absentmindedly.

"Yeah, whatever. The fact that Japan allowed the media to document and research the _psychic craze_ hasn't put us in a favorable light. It was a heavy detriment to Japan that that occurrence wasn't treated appropriately, and many children suffered as a result of that 'investigation'. The fact that we _still_ don't have any respectable research centers, and none that are backed by the government, just adds more reasons for Oliver Davis _not_ to be here."

"Also, didn't you say that he came under an alias?"

"Yeah, Shibuya Kazuya."

"That just makes it even weirder. Why would the famous Oliver Davis come from the most high-end research facility where he has many bonuses to a psychic-research backwater country _under an alias_? That doesn't make any sense."

"Kei-chan, maybe he's here on personal business, or a vacation or something?"

"And he promptly decides to take on a case and hire you as an assistant and research topic? Mai, that makes even less sense."

"Plus, where is his brother?" Michiru's question threw the other two for a loop.

"His brother? Michi, what are you going on about? His bio doesn't have anything about that."

"I also can't find anything about that on the paranormal gossip sites – where did you find that information?"

"Gossip sites? Why are you on _gossip sites_ , Keiko?" Mai's annoyance was clearly audible to her friends. Keiko gulped.

"Ehh… I thought it might have more information?" Mai groaned.

"Keiko… What am I supposed to do with you?"

"Anyway," Michiru quickly interjected, "he supposedly has a twin brother, Eugene Davis, who excels in anything ESP related. He has been dubbed as the 'perfect medium' due to the strength of his powers. My aunt told me about him once, and my training methods for control and making it dormant are orientated on his. Not much is known about him, apart from the fact that he's known as the nicer twin and more laid back. Hey, do you think he is the medium he used to work with when he was younger?"

"I think that's likely… If he is Oliver Davis' twin, then Eugene's ESP abilities are most likely equal to Oliver's PK powers," Mai interjected before Michiru asked Keiko a question.

"But really, what a strange thing to say about someone… Why would you describe somebody as the 'nicer twin'? And what is up with the 'laid back' comment?"

"Well, apparently, Oliver Davis was always known as being a genius and aiming high – there are tons of complaints about him always having his nose in a book and brushing everybody off. He gained his doctor title with fourteen years – that's very impressive. Also, he apparently has really bad manners." Surprisingly, Keiko's gossip sites came in handy – Mai was really astonished. "If Eugene was even a tad more polite, I can see how he would be called the 'nicer twin'. Ah, can you imagine? Such a handsome face combined with a nice attitude – truly a match made in heaven! Mai, are you sure that we met with Oliver and not Eugene?" Once again, Mai groaned.

"Keiko… Yes, I'm sure. Now could you stop swooning about him for a second? We have an important decision to make!"

"Hey, I stopped talking about him for at least five minutes!"

"Keiko… Not the point!" Now, Keiko was pouting.

"Hmpf!"

"But Mai… You have to admit that this is all really strange."

"It is, but… I don't know, I feel like I can trust him. No, it's more like I _should_ trust him. And you know my instincts, they are never wrong."

Michiru sighed. _Why did we even do research? That girl is always going to do what she wants to…_ She shook her head fondly.

"Alright, do what you think is right. But please, Mai… Promise me that the moment – and I mean, the _moment_ – you feel like something isn't right or that you are uncomfortable you will quit _right away._ Understand?"

"Yes, yes, I promise."

"Good." Michiru sounded satisfied.

"But still," Keiko used that moment to interject her thoughts, "it's really strange that the contract has already arrived. It's been, what? Four hours since you talked to him? Five? During that time frame, he must somehow have gotten your address, written the contract, and delivered it to your apartment. Not to mention that we are talking since about an hour, and you did your homework and cooked… The timeframe he had to deliver it unnoticed is maybe half an hour. That's really creepy."

"He probably had the contract already drawn up, and he must have gotten my address in advance. Then he had the talk with me, and delivered it afterwards – it's not that complicated, if you think about it."

"Maybe, but that is still fast – that man sure doesn't cut any corners, does he?" Michiru voiced her opinion.

"He must have really wanted Mai to work for him – lucky you!"

"Haha… Yeah." _I'm just not sure if that is such a good thing…_ "So, the two of you agree that I should sign the contract?"

"Well, I had it checked by Takashi – you know, that senpai that went on to study law – and he asked his professor who said that the contract is legitimate and doesn't have any hidden paragraphs or a hidden agenda."

"Seems like your hoarding of contact numbers and constant flirting is finally coming in handy, huh Keiko?" Michiru teased.

"Meanie!"

"Anyway, you can sign it without worrying, Mai."

"Alright. Then I'm going to return Shisui his laptop now. Bye ladies!"

"Bye! See you guys tomorrow."

"Have a good night!"

* * *

Wednesday, 9.53 pm

"Thank you for lending me the laptop, Shisui."

"Anytime, Mai-chan. Dinner was truly a feast – seems like your cooking skills improved again, huh?" A gentle smile played on Shisui's lips, before it turned into a slightly mischievous one. "So how about it, Mai-chan? I know a fairly high-class restaurant that would do _anything_ to have you working there…"

"Hah, you only say that because you could then eat my food every day for free, Mr. My-parents-own-said-restaurant." A playful twinkle appeared in Mai's eyes.

"Haha, you are right of course. Can't blame a man for trying though, no?"

"Nope, I can't. Which is why it's good that I'll have a different job, starting tomorrow," Mai said with a smile on her lips. Shisui, however, immediately got serious.

"A new job? Where? With whom? As what? Since when? Seriously Mai, if you accepted the job from that shady –"

"I didn't, I didn't, stop worrying. It's with a ghost hunting company." Shisui's eyebrows furrowed.

"A ghost hunting company? Mai, I don't think – "

"Don't worry. The guy's pretty famous, and he's the real deal. Kei-chan and Mi-chan have already researched him and the contract in detail, and gave their blessing. You worry too much. My instincts say he's fine, anyway." The crease between Shisui's eyebrows smoothed out the tiniest bit, and instead of worried turned deadly serious.

"Okay then. But I want to meet him." His voice brooked no argument. Mai pressed on, anyway.

"To do what?"

"Talk."

"Oh, really? I thought you would just stand there and stare at him…" The sarcasm in her voice was painfully obvious.

"Mai…" Now Shisui sounded annoyed.

"No, Shisui. We aren't a couple anymore, and you aren't my boyfriend. What I do or don't do is my business, not yours." Shisui sighed.

"I know that. But I am still your best friend. That's _got_ to count for something." His slightly whiny tone successfully evaporated the tense mood, and the mischievous glint entered Mai's eyes again.

"Best friend? But I'm closer with Michi and Kei than with you…" Shisui rolled his eyes and pouted.

"But I'm definitely your best _male_ friend." Mai laughed.

"True."

"Therefore I have the duty to ensure that you only hang out with _appropriate_ friends."

"'Hang out'? Shi, he's my boss…"

"Oh no! The dreadful nickname reappears! What do I do?" Shisui called out dramatically, causing Mai to giggle. The, he turned serious. "Boss or not, it's the same thing." Shisui was adamant.

"Fine, I'll ask him if he wants to talk to you. If he doesn't, then you won't say anything and shut up, alright?"

"Yep. But I can't help but think that you didn't bring up your new job _just_ to get out of the restaurant job offer…"

"Sharp as always, Shi-chan. You see, it's a ghost hunting company. Naturally, we will solve cases – and according to my contract, that usually means living on the premise for three to five days."

"Meaning, you want me to look after your flat, and do stuff like accepting your mail and watering your flowers, correct?"

"Yep."

"Fine, I'll do it. Under one condition."

"Which is?"

"Promise to call me if you need someone to talk to. Don't bottle everything up."

"Alright, I promise."

"I mean it, Mai."

"I do too." Shisui nodded, and Mai drew him into a quick hug.

"Good night, Shi-chan. And thanks for lending me the laptop. I'll bring the key over tomorrow."

"Good night, Mai-chan. Sleep well."

* * *

As soon as Shisui closed the door behind him, he sighed. _Troublesome girl… Can you for once_ not _rush to get yourself in trouble?_

He gazed at a photograph hanging on the wall next to the door. It was his favorite picture of Mai.

It showed two kids, around ten years old, playing on the beach. The girl had brown hair and brown eyes, both reminiscent of chocolate, and was a full head smaller than the boy. The boy had black hair and grey eyes, and was gazing adoringly at the girl, who in turn was throwing the boy a dazzling smile.

Shisui's gaze softened as he remembered just _why_ this photo was so important to him. It was the first time he saw Mai smile this brightly since her father died… and since _that_ happened. Back then, he had sworn to protect this girl with everything he had.

He snorted. _If only the girl in question wouldn't make it this complicated to take care of her… Seriously, she_ does _know that other people worry about her with all the crazy stunts she pulls, right?_

He stared a few more minutes at the photo, before walking away with a determined glint in his eyes. How much would it cost to hire himself a medium? He wanted to make sure that if she _did_ die on one of her cases, she would know what he thought of that. Namely, that she needed to stop being so careless. Maybe it would help her in her next life.

Obviously, he hadn't said it often enough in _this_ life.

* * *

Thursday, 5 pm

Mai was currently standing in front of a fairly upscale office located in the Shibuya district. The words 'SPR – Shibuya Psychic Research' was emblazoned on the door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked and entered.

She let her eyes ghost over the room and took in the layout of the office. Right next to the entrance was a coat rack, obviously meant as a place for the clients to deposit of their coats and umbrellas on rainy days. It opened up into a fairly large room with a couple of couches, a coffee table, large book cases, and a desk – presumably hers, considering that Naru mentioned her 'working as an assistant'.

To the right side of the room, a door frame led into what looked like a kitchen from what she could see, and on the left another door – this one closed – led into what she assumed to be the bathroom. Further back, two doors led into what she assumed to be the offices of Naru and Tall – or Lin, as she thought Naru had called his other assistant.

Of course, she could be wrong and Lin worked on this receptionist desk and the other room led into the archives or something, but considering the layout her first idea simply made more sense.

Mai deliberated using her abilities to figure it out, when suddenly both doors opened simultaneously. _Whoa, they definitely practiced that._

Naru exited from the left door, and Tall – Lin, she had to start remembering his name – exited from the right.

From what she could glimpse of the rooms, they were definitely offices, and Mai allowed herself a moment of triumph before focusing on the two males before her.

"Good evening Mai. Please take a seat. I assume you are here to talk about my job offer?" Naru's cold and professional tone caused her to raise her right eyebrow a bit, before she followed suit and took a seat on the sofa across from Naru.

Tall – Lin, goddamnit – took a seat to Naru's left, and didn't say a word. _Rude. Has he no manners?_ She frowned when she noticed that he had a laptop under his arm, briefly wondering if he was an addict that couldn't stand to part with his precious device. Then she returned her attention to Naru and answered his question.

"I am."

"Good. I assume you are here to accept it?" God, his arrogant and self-confident behavior made her want to smack him. But of course, this job was a good opportunity (and money was always welcome for an orphan like her), and so she couldn't. Bummer.

"I am," she repeated once again.

"Good. In that case, which hours can you work?" absentmindedly, she noticed that Tall – Lin, Lin, Lin! – begun typing. _Is he documenting this conversation?_

"It differs from week to week and day to day due to the subjects I chose, but I can always be here at six. If you want me to come over directly after school, I will on some days be here at three, on some at six, but mostly it will be around five."

"Very well. Then we will set your official working hours from six to nine in the evening. When you arrive earlier due to a shorter school day, it will be counted as working overtime and paid accordingly. On Saturdays, you will work from ten in the morning to six in the evening, and Sunday will be your day off – unless, of course, we are on a case. Is that alright with you?"

Mai nodded.

"Then I assume you have brought the contract?"

"Yes, I have it here," Mai said and began to look through her bag, before pulling out a folder with a triumphant sound. "Here."

Naru looked it over, checking if everything was in place, before narrowing his eyes and handing the document over to Lin, who mirrored his actions.

"Mai." Naru's voice was frosty, and it sent a shiver down Mai's spine.

"Y-Yes?" She gulped.

"Where is the signature of your parents? You are fifteen years old, and therefore incapable of signing any kind of contract. Their missing signature is not acceptable."

"It's… impossible for them to sign this." Mai winced at the small pause – she thought she was over their deaths already.

She understood the cycle of life and death, probably better than anybody else. After all, she saw how every single thing on this earth constantly exchanged energy with everything else – whether that was a living being or an object – on a day to day basis. She understood the necessity of it, and that it was what guaranteed the continuation and evolution of life on earth.

At the same time, Mai understood that healers were privileged – they, and they alone, had the ability to interfere in this precious cycle without any negative consequences. Therefore, it was only logical that it came with limitations, which grew with the maturity of the gifted, to ensure that it was used adequately. And naturally, she understood that these limitations meant that not everybody could be saved – that there were some injuries and illnesses that were too severe to heal. Sometimes, the period somebody was supposed to spent on earth was simply already over, or they had spent too much energy and weren't able to recover.

Mai understood that no matter what she did, for these people there was no turning back time, no happy ending.

But still, the fact that even though she tried her best to heal them, the fact that she failed… Failed _them_ , of everybody else on this planet…

"Explain." Naru's sharp voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she quickly shook off the melancholy and longing that was trying to cling to her. Mai put on her happy mask, the one she developed over the years for moments like this, when she had to talk about _them_ , and went to answer Naru. She could feel the impatience already building up within him, as well as the slight curiosity Lin's aura emitted, and noticed absentmindedly that her second sight slipped on unbidden. With a little concentration she turned it off again.

"My parents are dead. My father died when I was five, and my mother died when I was in middle school – I am an emancipated orphan, and I live on my own. That contract is legally acceptable."

"… I see. In that case, I have no problems. Lin?" _Did I imagine that, or did Naru actually pause?_

"Everything's in order."

"Very well. Taniyama Mai, I hereby welcome you as an employee of SPR, Shibuya Psychic Research, and JSPR, the Japanese Society of Psychic Research. Your paycheck will be paid by the main branch, the British Society of Psychic Research, so don't worry when you see their initials. Any questions so far?"

Mai quickly shook her head no.

"Alright. I think it was obvious, but please refrain from calling me Oliver Davis here in Japan and address me as 'Shibuya Kazuya'. While we aren't on a case, you will do normal secretary work here – filing, receiving the post, sending emails, planning appointments, answering the phone, receiving clients, and providing refreshments from the kitchen when asked for it.

"Should you receive emails, phone calls or post from the BSPR, please redirect them to me or Lin immediately. By the way, how is your English?"

"Acceptable, I guess."

"Meaning?"

"I can hold a normal everyday conservation without much difficulty." Now, Naru smiled a deprecating smile.

"Is that so? In that case, feel free to show me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her brows furrowed at the barely concealed insult Naru threw at her.

" **Ah, I apologize. I should have known that I shouldn't expect much from the Japanese standards in foreign languages.** " He stated with a smirk. Mai begrudgingly noticed that it was accent-free – well, that was to be expected considering that he was born and raised there, but still… She gave an icy smile herself.

" **I find that comment very offensive. Please stop insulting Japan. That is not nice. I am able to understand you. You are a jerk. Also, thinking everybody is the same is bad.** " It certainly wasn't the best English, and there was definitely an accent, but Mai's clumsy sentences proved her earlier statement – she was able to hold an everyday conversation without much difficulty.

" **Oh, it seems like you can at least hold a decent conversation – that is more than I expected. We will have to work on your vocabulary, your accent, and – most importantly – the flow of your sentences though, before we can have you taking over the duty of the BSPR-JSPR communication. Very well, it seems adequate enough to have you answering and relaying the calls, at least.** " Seeing Mai's slightly lost look, he translated it into Japanese.

"You still need to work on your English, but it is good enough that you should be able to receive and redirect calls from Britain, for now. Do you have any problems with the work you are asked to do?"

"No, that seems to be a very fair workload considering that amount of money you are willing to pay."

"Good. By the way, Mai, are you free this weekend?"

"Uhm, I should be. Why?"

"No homework that you won't get finished in time, no other duties?" Naru pressed on as if he hadn't heard Mai's answer.

"No, I don't. I'll be able to finish the homework I got today later, and every homework I receive Friday will be due Tuesday or Wednesday. Why do you ask?"

"Perfect. I want to work you into your work as my assistant. The office stuff is easy enough once it was explained, but for the on-site stuff we need an actual case – and I have already received the perfect one. It is a very easy case, which I have already solved, and doesn't involve an overly harmful spirit.

"We will use this case to show you what to do, since it is relatively harm-free. Today will be used to get down the basics of your office job, including a call to the client in order to make an appointment for Friday. During the appointment, you will witness how an interrogation usually works and make your own notes. We will spend the weekend on site, where you will learn the procedures there – setting up base, safety protocols, general rules, the progression of an investigation, dealing with clients, how to integrate yourself into the team, solving cases and the conclusion, as well as writing up a report afterwards." Mai gulped – that sounded like _a lot_ of work!

"I will give you a packing list, considering that this is your first job, which you can use as a reference for the next cases. Any questions or objections?"

"None." Naru gave a satisfied smirk at that.

"Good. This is the information the client has sent us," he handed her two sheets of paper, "and I want you to copy them into a client profile on your laptop. That will be standard procedure for future cases. Use that time to study the case information, and ask if any questions come up – your vocabulary for paranormal occurrences is obviously still lacking. I will be in my office. Also, please prepare a cup of tea. Bring it to me when it is finished." With this, both Naru and Lin stood up at the same time and entered their respective office.

A slightly stunned Mai looked after them, still sitting on a couch. _They are definitely practicing that beforehand._

* * *

Thursday, 5.45 pm

Mai grumbled as she typed the information of the client into a special program SPR used. Earlier, maybe five minutes after Naru and Lin reentered their offices, Lin came out again with a silver laptop under his arm. Mai had noticed that as weird, considering that the one he previously carried was black – did he have multiple ones? If yes, what did he need them for?

Her questions were answered quickly afterwards when Lin placed the laptop on her desk silently.

* * *

Thursday, 5.15 pm

" _Lin-san? What is that?" He didn't answer her, but the look he threw her definitely said 'Are you stupid? This is a laptop.' He then proceeded to log into it – to her surprise, the account was named 'Taniyama Mai' – and started to drone on in his monotonous voice._

" _For the sake of uniformity, you will do everything in a certain format and with certain programs. Watch."_

 _He then proceeded to show her where she should type in client information, how to fill out the calendar, which standard template her emails had to follow, which protocols the calls should be done with, how she should sort the post, the way she should file different things – and the apparently most important aspect for Lin – how to do her reports._

 _He actually spoke during that aspect of his 'lecture', and threw a few glares in as well – and she received a threat._

" _If you do your report improperly, leave out important information, conceal knowledge you gained in any way, or use a wrong template, I WILL have you redo the entire thing and make sure to give you enough things for filing that you will regret having ignored my warning. Are we clear?" His dark, monotonous voice, coupled with his imposing stature and his terrifying glare, was enough to intimidate Mai. She didn't even dare to check his aura, afraid of what she would find there._

" _Y-yes!"_

* * *

Thursday, 5.45 pm

Mai looked at the statement the client had sent Naru per mail.

' _Hello, my name is Amisako Maiko, and I am a 36-year-old mother of twins.  
Lately, my husband and I have been witnessing strange occurrences in our house. We have lived in this house for twelve years already, and it belonged to my parents before they gifted it to me when I married my husband. We cannot explain the things we have been witnessing, especially since they didn't happen before.  
The first occurrence was probably about a year ago. We returned from the enrollment ceremony of the middle school the twins started to attend. Upon entering the house, we noticed that the foyer was really cold – we could see our breaths – but the rest of the house was at a normal temperature. We didn't think much about it, however.  
That evening, Emi – the older of the twins – said she dreamed of a strange man in her bedroom who was whispering things to her. Eri, on the other hand, claimed to dream of an old woman who told her not to go to school.  
After that, there was nothing for a few weeks. Then one night Emi woke up and told my husband that she dreamed of the man holding her hand and taking her somewhere. Eri said she dreamed of Emi disappearing. The two refused to go to school that day, and never brought it up again.  
The next time anything happened was probably about half a year later. We didn't keep track of the dates, unfortunately. Eri woke up screaming in the middle of the night and said nobody should ever enter the Miller's house, that it was dangerous. The Miller's house is an old house that once belonged to a married couple, Anna and Max Miller. They were an American couple, which is why I wrote their name the other way around. Anyway, they died a couple of years ago, and a young family moved in recently.  
We were planning on going to visit them that evening, as a 'welcome in the neighborhood' kinda thing. Eri made such a fuss that we didn't go. When Emi heard was Eri was screaming, she told her 'don't worry, they will be gone soon'. Two months later the young family moved out. This has happened twice again now, and the house is currently empty.  
The reason I am writing to you now is that Eri woke up yesterday, on Monday, screaming "Stay out, stay out, stay gone! Nobody wants you here, nobody needs you here, just stay away! You disgrace of humanity!" at the top of her lungs. Emi once again told her "don't worry, they'll be gone soon. I'll make sure of it' in a soothing voice. Today we received the news that a couple has bought the property and will be moving in a weeks' time.  
Please, Mr. Shibuya, you have to help us! We are really creeped out by all of this!  
Amisaki Maiko'_

Mai sighed as she continued filling out Naru's tedious template while thinking about the case.

 _Naru said that he has already solved the case and that it was very easy and harmless one. I must admit that this case is nothing like the ones Kei, Michi and I have been solving. The only sign of a ghostly presence is the extreme cold the family noticed about a year ago. The dreams could be signs of either a failed – or a minor – possession, or of a budding psychic. The first dream especially points to a failed possession, where the ghost instead went on to influence the mind of the victim._

 _The reaction of the girls' points towards that too – they changed their behavior and refused to attend school. The problem is that there is nothing pointing towards that afterwards. The dream where one of the girls is taking away could be the aftermaths of a possession – seeing the ghosts' memories – but that doesn't make sense either… It is more likely for that to have been a pre-cognitive dream. Shared psychic abilities between twins isn't unusual. Then again, it is more likely to have simply been a normal nightmare. The fact that they shared the same dream from different viewpoints is easily explained by the fact that they are twins…_

 _The problem is the Miller's house. That_ definitely _points towards a possession, but… There are no other signs. The things she keeps repeating and the sentence her sister always says… Those are the only things I can definitely pin on a possession._

 _But_ that _doesn't make sense, again! A year ago, the two ghosts were only able to do a minor or a failed possession, and half a year later it has escalated into a full-blown possession? What the hell?!_

Mai sighed and redirected her focus on her task again. She considered calling Michiru and Keiko, but what was the point? When they solved a case, it was always a straight out haunting or a possession that was solved with Michiru channeling the spirit. Besides, Naru said that he has already solved the case.

 _If this is a 'simple' case, then I don't want to know what a 'complicated' case would be…_

Suddenly, a shout echoed through the office.

"Mai! Where's the tea I asked for?"

 _Oops…_

"Coming right up!" She tried to inject as much cheer as she could into her voice, hoping to mollify her boss, and hastily went into the kitchen to prepare the tea.

Once there, she leafed through the cabinets trying to find some kind of variety. In the end, she only found a few tea bags – _tea bags!_ – of chamomile tea, and a can of loose leaves with the inscription _Earl Grey_. Sighing, she resigned herself to making the Earl Grey – it's not like there was any _real_ alternative. After a bit more looking around, she located the tea kettle, a spoon, and the cups.

She set the tea kettle on the herd and went towards Lin's office, knocking twice.

"Lin-san? I'm making Earl Grey for Naru, do you want a cup too?"

"No," came the short answer through the closed door.

 _Oh well, at least I tried._

Then she went over to Naru's door, knocked, and asked: "Do you drink your tea with milk, Naru?"

"No, just prepare it normally."

"Alright," came her cheery reply to his icy tone.

 _He's British, that means 'prepare it normally' means the typical British way - lemon and sugar._

Back in the kitchen, she tried to locate a tray, when she noticed that the water was about to boil and quickly took it off. Mai took out two cups, added the tea leaves, and filled them with the heated water, before letting everything steep for exactly three minutes.

Then she went to search the fridge. Ideally, she would serve the Earl Grey with madeleines, but they didn't seem to have any. They also didn't seem to have lemons… But she did find sugar in the cabinet over the fridge.

Slightly annoyed, she put the sugar jar on the tray – she didn't know how much Naru wanted – grabbed two extra spoons, and made her way out of the kitchen after removing the tea leaves.

Stopping by her desk she put her cup on the table and added a few spoons of sugar which she quickly stirred with a spoon, before making her way towards Naru's office.

* * *

Thursday, 6 pm

Entering Naru's office with a tray in her hands required some delicate shifting of said tray while making sure that she didn't spill any tea, but she managed to arrive safely at Naru's desk.

"Here's your tea, Naru," she said with a smile, gently placing the cup on his desk. "Do you want some sugar?"

"No. You didn't knock." He stared at her accusingly.

"Well excuse me!" Mai exclaimed with narrowed eyes, one hand placed on her hip. "Unfortunately, I only have two hands. If I want to balance the tray – which the _tea is placed on_ – without spilling anything, delicate handling is required. Knocking – _which would undoubtedly shake my arm and thus the tray_ – is definitely not possible." Naru raised an eyebrow at her biting tone.

"Lin is able to," he replied calmly, amused at how easily she was riled up.

"Well, I am not Lin."

"Obviously." Mai narrowed her eyes even further.

"Well then, why don't you have _Lin_ prepare your tea if he does it so much better?" Naru took in a breath, wanting to reply, but Mai cut him short.

"While we are on the topic of preparing tea – why the _hell_ is there _bagged_ tea in the cabinets? Also, why is there only some kind of no-name brand of Earl Grey there? And – judging from the fact that there is only loose-leaved Earl Grey – _where_ in God's name is the lemon?" Mai's breathing was slightly labored from her outburst, while Naru's second eyebrow shot up to accompany the first.

"Why are you looking for _lemons_?" Now it was Mai's turn to stare at Naru incredulous.

"Why do you _think_ , Mr. Genius? For the tea, of course!"

"For the tea?" Mai just groaned in exasperation.

"Yes, the tea, Mr. Supposed-Genius! The typical British way of drinking Earl Grey: lemon and sugar! The Americans take milk and sugar, but I find that it dampens the taste. Also, there were no madeleines, and _where the hell is the variety_?! Bagged Chamomile and Earl Grey? Where the hell are the other _integral_ tea sorts?"

"Earl Grey is drunken with lemon and sugar?"

"Of course it is, you narcissistic idiot! And you didn't thank me for the tea! More like, you haven't even tasted it yet!"

Choosing to ignore her outburst, Naru calmly asked: "Is there something you still need, Mai?"

"Yes, a thanks!"

"Well," he stated with a smirk, "have fun waiting." With that, he returned to his documents, occasionally taking a sip of his tea, and watching Mai out of the corners of his eyes.

After a full ten minutes, Mai finally exploded.

"You uncorrectable, narcissistic, conceited jerk! At least have the decency to say 'thank you'!" With that, she stalked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Amused, Naru noticed that she made sure not to slam it even in her anger. _Hmm, she is interesting. But seriously,_ he took another sip from the cup, _her tea is delicious. Lemon, sugar and Madeleines, huh… Maybe I should send Lin shopping. But more importantly… I wonder how often I can get her to bring me tea before she completely explodes? Such an interesting girl…_

* * *

Thursday, 8.55 pm

It was now exactly five minutes before Mai could leave, and she was really looking forward to it. Don't get her wrong, she actually quite liked her new job, but the amount of filing, typing and documenting she had to do today was no joke. Not to mention the amount of _tea_ she had to brew for her uncorrectable boss.

She didn't even know that it was possible for one man to drink that much tea. During the last three hours, she had heard the phrase "Mai, tea." Exactly eight times. _Eight_! That meant around _every twenty minutes_ , give or take a few. Considering that it took her about seven to eight minutes to prepare his cup, that was impressive.

Not to mention that he hadn't thanked her _once_.

He did say that she made a good cup, though, which mollified her.

Anyway, another five minutes and then she was free. All she wanted to do was to sit here and do nothing before she could pack up, bid a cheerful goodbye to Lin and Naru, and leave.

Of course, we are talking about narcissistic Naru-chan here – Mai was naïve to think that he would let her go just like that.

"Mai," she almost expected 'tea' to follow afterwards, "come into my office, please."

 _Great, if that wasn't ominous, then I don't know what is._

 _Maybe he's firing me on my first day? That would be horrible… Maybe I shouldn't have exploded on him as I did with the tea earlier… Oh my god, getting fired on my first day would be so embarrassing…_

* * *

Thursday, 8.57 pm

"Mai, sit down." Naru motioned at the seat situated in front of his imposing desk. "What do you think?"

"What… Do I think?" Mai looked at Naru questioningly, hesitancy and confusion obvious in her tone.

"About the case, Mai," Naru replied annoyed.

"Oh. Eh…" She took a breath and focused. "I think it is either a minor possession or budding psychics. The problem is that there isn't enough proof for either – and neither one fits on all the different dreams. Ehm, the occurrence with the cold floor is highly relevant, since it is the only definite proof of any ghostly influence. Yet again, that only happened once. The only thing that can definitely be pinned on a possession is the Miller's house… But then again, neither twin showed any other typical signs of possessions, apart from the dreams of course. Then there is the problem of the sudden increase in the strength of the ghosts… That's really atypical.

"All in all, this is a very confusing case."

"… I see."

A long pause stretched between the two of them, before Mai couldn't stand it anymore.

"Well?" Naru simply raised an eyebrow.

"Well, what?" He replied calmly.

"Are you going to let me know whether I'm right, or are you just keeping it to yourself?!" Mai felt her patience stretching thin, and she desperately tried to stop it from snapping.

"And why should I do that?" Came the cold reply. "For someone with your amount of experience with paranormal happenstances it should be easily ascertainable." At this moment, Mai swore that she actually heard the ' _snap_ ' of her patience stretching too thin. When thinking back to this event later, she will blame her anger for missing the fact that Oliver Davis knew things about her that she hadn't told him.

"Excuse you, you unbearable, arrogant, narcissistic _jerk_ of a scientist! Not _all_ of us have an unmeasurable high IQ coupled with vast experience in the field _as well as_ more time to figure this case out!" Mai was positively seething at this point. Naru looked at her unimpressed and threw her a cold smile.

"Are you saying that if you had more time you could figure this out?"

"That… I… That's not the point! Why don't you just tell me, stupid scientist?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Naru began in a condescending tone. "Your brain needs more exercise. We wouldn't want it to atrophy from lack of usage, would we?"

"Just tell me!"

"Fine." Naru sighed, acting as if this was the most tedious task he ever had to do. Mai's eyes started twitching in rage, but she was mollified when Naru started his explanation.

"To start, we have to take a look at when everything started to happen for the first time. According to Amisaki-san, that was when they returned from enrolling their children at the local middle school, Goko Middle School. If you take a look at the occurrence, namely the extreme cold centered in one place that didn't affect the rest of the house nor happened ever again, you quickly get the picture of a spiritual awakening – in this case, of two ghosts that have been asleep for around a hundred years.

"The dreams of the twins are what proves it to be two ghosts – most likely an old married couple. This couple apparently has something against the Miller's house and didn't want the twins to attend school.

"This leaves two possibilities – harmful spirits or protecting spirits. Normally, if you have a dream where somebody was taken away, you'd think about a harmful spirit. On the other hand, the act of 'taking someone away from something' can be protective and helpful for someone, possibly preventing harm.

"Due to those dreams, the two refused to go to school that day – and nothing happened. The client even wrote that it 'wasn't brought up again', which leads me to the conclusion that the interference of the ghosts most likely was an act of _prevention_ , not harm. It starts getting strange when one of the children dreams about the Miller's house and starts screaming that it's dangerous. That behavior isn't explainable with dreams or reliving memories – it was most likely a short possession.

"The behavior of the other twin – saying, 'don't worry, they will be gone soon' supports that hypothesis. It was most likely a double possession, with the man taking the other twin. However, they didn't do anything – merely prevented the family from going to the house. What the man said could be taken as a threat or something comparable, but it is more likely that he was only trying to reassure the woman, and that something else caused the family to move away.

"The problem is what happened on Monday." Here Naru paused, and Mai briefly recollected what the letter stated. _'Stay out, stay out, stay gone! Nobody wants you here, nobody needs you here, just stay away! You disgrace of humanity!' 'don't worry, they'll be gone soon. I'll make sure of it.' That sure sounds sinister…_

"That doesn't work with my hypothesis. Therefore, I did a bit of research. In 1886, both the Amisaki's house and the Miller's house were already standing. Amisaki Hana was a fourteen-year-old child living there at the time, who had two younger sisters. Amisaki Nana, her third sister – who, by the way, is Amisaki Maiko-san's great-grandmother – wasn't born yet.

"Amisaki Hana attended Goko Middle School and had a boyfriend, Chikae Yoshitoshi, who attended a different Middle school due to the separation between males and females. A bit of digging caused me to stumble upon a certain… _accident_. I won't go into detail, but apparently, Hana was bullied – almost to the point of suicide. When Yoshitoshi found out, he set a scheme into play. I don't know what he did _exactly_ , but the ringleader - Oyama Shiho, who lived in what is now known as the 'Miller's house' – was arrested by the police, and never seen again. Her followers were punished severely. Can you connect the missing dots?" Mai thought about it a bit and nodded.

"The ghostly couple is Yoshitoshi and Hana. When the twins enrolled in Goko middle school, something most likely happened – maybe someone tried to bully them or something. That caused the awakening of our ghostly couple, who tried to protect their great-grand-nieces. But they most likely aren't very powerful, considering that they were resting and don't have a grudge or something, and are therefore only echoes – they are stuck reliving their trauma that almost made Hana commit suicide. The phrases they say probably come from there – the 'I'll make sure of it' is from Yoshitoshi's scheme, the 'stay out, you disgrace of humanity' is most likely Hana trying to get away from Shiho, and the dream where one of the twins is taken away… Eh… "

"…Is probably something Yoshitoshi did to protect Hana at some point. You are correct, I'm impressed. The Miller's house is where it all happened, and every time someone new moves in, the echoes relive their trauma."

"Then, what do we do?" Mai wouldn't admit it, but she was really impressed by Naru. It really sounded like he had already solved the entire case. From her own investigations, she knew how much work that could be – and he made it seem so effortlessly!

"There isn't much to do. Echoes are harmless and easy to handle. Usually, we wouldn't even bring our equipment for a case like this, much less actually accept it, but seeing how it is the perfect practice case for you, we will do everything we'd do for a large-scale investigation. As for making the echoes move on… All you have to do is remind them that they are already dead. In our case, we managed to find a family portrait from 1934. The couple was 62 years old at that point, and it will surely help to get them to move on. If not, Lin will attempt to call the spirit of Hana's mother, but that has only a fifty-fifty chance of working. Should all of that not work, we will speak with them – when we remind them of the ending, they should pass on peacefully." Mai smiled.

"I'm glad. Thank you for telling me, Naru." Naru turned around in his chair, redirecting his gaze to some documents on his table.

"Don't get used to it. I do not like to talk about what I presume is the solution to the case unless I can prove it. That would be unscientific. Next time when I tell you 'No', don't bother trying to persuade me – the answer will remain the same."

"Alright. Thank you for telling me even though you didn't want to, Naru-chan."

"I just thought it might be helpful if you weren't running around like the hopeless idiot you are on your first case, Mai." Naru smirked.

"Hmpf!" Mai turned around, nose high up in the air. "Say what you want, Naru-chan… It doesn't change that I'm grateful, Oliver." With that, she made to leave the office. When she was around to close the door, she heard Naru's voice stopping her.

"Don't forget to take the laptop with you – I need my employees available at all times, and seeing how you do not have a mobile phone, contacting you is highly inconvenient and inefficient right now."

Mai smiled, closed the door, and threw a 'Yes' over her shoulder. Then she went to pack up, and left for home, all the while smiling.

 _Say what you want, Oliver Davis, and try to hide behind your icy demeanor all you want… in the end, you_ do _care._

Of course, on Friday she would take all of that back – the amount of work Naru had her do reminded her too much of a sadistic slave driver.

" _Damn you Naru!"_

* * *

 **AN:**

Word count: 7896 words

I apologize for any mistakes, this chapter is _**unedited**_.

And done! That took _way_ longer than I expected. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Not much action, but I hope that it was enjoyable anyway.

Next chapter the actual 'Investigation' will take place, and Mai will meet the SPR irregulars with the first 'proper' case: _**File 2: The Dollhouse**_ **.** Basically, next chapter will be Mai's introduction into proper ghost hunting à la SPR-style.

I apologize for the long wait for this chapter, and I won't promise anything about when the next will be done.

Poll:  
I'll leave it open for a few more chapters, until maybe chapter four or so, because it won't have any relevance until then. Right now MaRu is in the lead, though MaLi isn't that much behind.

For Akahana Mai readers:  
So, I have finally begun rewriting the lost chapter. I honestly don't know how long it will take, but I expect it to be up in a week. Thank you, everyone, for the kind reviews.

* * *

 _ **I would like to thank everybody who reviewed, followed or favorited this story! Reviews feed my inspiration and motivation - I'm always very thankful when you take your time to review!**_

Honestly guys... 39 reviews, 59 Favourites, and 94 Followers on the first chapter... This is amazing.

Shoutout to: **Nagisa Maeda, Guest, kimaw31, sleonard, NxM, CaitHawke4Ever, Joys, Celline The Sleeping Beauty, chocoholic202, Mythelfa, ChoralMusic, Umiron, Guest, Rukia-Chan, RichkeyZero, Guest, Guest, Guest, Lady Angel Sanada Doji Date, blue hummming bird, Guest, DarkNekoGreece, Damaged Forest Spirit, Guest, ForeverTwistedLove8814, calmpiano, Guest, 2017, xSapphirexRosesxFanx, LittleBunnyFufu13, jcastle1, LukaLover, darklovelysecrets, DragonQueenFire, yukina140292, pastelcoralamethyst, Kallen21, DALucifer13, Umiron**

 **QUESTION CORNER:**  
Guest: I'm pretty sure they will play an interesting role in this story ^^  


Joys: That I can promise - the Japanese issue will be done away with soon :)

Guest: I'll do my best, but unfortunately I'm not a very experienced writer and I changed a few things in her past, so I'm not sure that there won't be OOC-ness, but I'll do my best! Considering that I changed how much experience she has with the paranormal, at least that will change. For the Mary-Sue-ness... I agree there is a bit of that, but there are actually quite a few limitations about Mai and her powers that I haven't touched on yet.

Umiron: Ehmm... Maybe? If it would be both, it'd most likely be little moments/advances/attraction with both, but neither becoming official... I think.

Until next time,  
One Autumn Leaf

Edited: 19.09.2018


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